Survey of EUEC Attendees Finds More than Half Are Not Measuring Carbon

Enviance commissioned a survey of 143 energy and utility professionals at EUEC 2011 to determine the industry's progress toward compliance with new regulations.

Feb 05, 2011

Enviance Inc., a global provider of software solutions, reported the results of an on-the-ground survey at EUEC 2011 by the show’s executives and influencers. This is the second annual survey the company has commissioned at EUEC, with this year’s survey addressing year-over-year change in data along with new energy, utility, and environmental concerns.

The survey of 143 energy and utility industry professionals attending EUEC found these following points:

Emissions Systems: 58 percent of the professionals surveyed responded that they have no system in place to record carbon emissions; an almost identical figure to the 61 percent of respondents to the 2010 survey who claimed their companies had no emissions recording systems in place.

Cap and Trade: In 2011, 65 percent of respondents commented there would be no effect or they have no plans to address a carbon price/tax; this is a surprising increase over 2010 (53 percent) given that California’s landmark AB 32 legislation will set a price on carbon by 2012.

Water Emissions: 55 percent of respondents identified water emissions as an equal priority to carbon emissions. Only 15 percent responded that carbon emissions are of greater priority than water emissions.

Monitoring the EPA: A dramatic 84 percent of respondents commented that they monitor changing EPA regulations “as they happen.” Only 7 percent of respondents commented that they monitor changing EPA regulations “when we have to,” showing a clear commitment of corporate EH&S teams to stay ahead of EPA legislation.

“The very small 3 percent drop in the percentage of companies that have no GHG emissions tracking system in place, and the dramatic rise in the percentage of companies reporting no plans to deal with any price or tax on carbon suggest that neither the mandatory GHG reporting rule nor the Securities and Exchange Commission guidance on GHG reporting is causing much of a change in industry,” said Lawrence Goldenhersh, Enviance president and CEO.

"It will be interesting to see whether the advent of cap and trade in California in 2012 — setting a price on carbon in the eighth largest economy in the world — will alter what companies consider necessary to meet the analysis and reporting requirements imposed by the SEC," Goldenhersh added. "It will also be interesting to see whether the industry's focus on water is being driven by regulation or the recognition that fresh water is a constrained resource that must be managed to advance profitability and protect competitiveness."